Storms disrupt Friday at Magny-Cours after Mercedes and Aston Martin set the pace

Mercedes-AMG Motorsport set the early benchmark during Friday’s running at Magny-Cours, but changing weather conditions ensured no team ended the day with a clear advantage. Jules Gounon topped FP1 before heavy rain and lightning transformed the track for FP2. Aston Martin led the way overall, with Jamie Day finishing fastes before the session ended early.

Early afternoon Mercedes-AMG Team Verstappen Racing topped the timesheets in the first free practice session, with Jules Gounon setting the fastest lap of 1m37.190s in drying conditions. Mercedes-AMG enjoyed a dominant start to the weekend by locking out the top three positions, as Marvin Dienst finished second for Winward Racing, 0.231 seconds behind Gounon, while Lucas Auer completed the top three in the sister Winward entry.

BMW and Porsche followed closely behind the Mercedes-AMG contingent. Championship leader Charles Weerts was fourth for Team WRT, ahead of Gilles Magnus in the fastest Porsche. Robin Knutsson also impressed early on for Boutsen VDS, helping the team secure top spot in the Gold Cup standings with fifth overall. Dennis Marschall led the Ferrari charge in sixth for Kessel Racing, while Fabian Schiller placed seventh in another Mercedes-AMG for GetSpeed Team Dubai.

Ignacio Montenegro was the quickest Silver Cup driver in eighth overall for Team WRT, with Ben Green’s Emil Frey Racing Ferrari and Mateo Villagomez’s Walkenhorst Motorsport Aston Martin rounding out the top 10. All 44 cars completed the session without incidents or stoppages, though conditions became more difficult later on Friday, with rain and thunderstorms forecast ahead of the second practice.

Evening rain and fast track evolution suit Aston Martin and Porsche

The second session of the day was delayed slightly due to a barrier repair, but after five minutes, the practice started and the cars were underway. The first twenty minutes were rainy and the tarmac was clearly soaked, meaning the teams were careful in their first flying laps. Soon enough, the lap times started to improve and Alessio Picariello put the #2 Porsche 911 GT3 R on the provisional best time.

Dennis Marschall managed to beat that lap in the #74 Kessel Racing Ferrari 296 GT3 Evo by setting a 1:55.785, but a second Porsche slotted in on the third fastest time soon after: the #80 Lionspeed GP Porsche completed a lap of 1:55.898 – just a tenth off Marschall. About halfway through the session Mercedes-AMG continued their runs from earlier on Friday too, with Dienst speeding to a 1:55.194.

It looked like there was some decent track evolution, with the racing lines becoming a little drier with every lap. It led to the #7 Comtoyou Aston Martin also entering the top three fastest times, with Nicki Thiim on a 1:55.575. A yellow flag on the start-finish line slightly interrupted some laps, as the #6 Mercedes-AMG of Bartone Bros by GetSpeed drove slowly next to the track.

©SRO/JEP

Lightning red-flags session two

After almost an hour of running, the weather conditions worsened again as lightning split the sky further open, resulting in a new shower. Jamie Day put the #34 Aston Martin on the fastest provisional time beforehand, speeding to P1 with a 1:54.168 – showing the times got faster before the second set of rain showers hit the track. the #87 and #48 Mercedes-AMGs followed suit. To prevent unsafe situations, the session was red-flagged with about half an hour left to go.

At 21:50hrs CEST race control informed everyone that the session would not be resumed due to the weather conditions. That leaves Aston Martin at the top of the timesheet because of Day’s 1:54.168 lap. Mercedes-AMG slot in on P2 and P3 overall.

In Gold Cup, the #10 Boutsen VDS Porsche tops again with Robin Knutsson behind the wheel. McLaren grabbed the second fastest time with Arthur Rougier in the #111 CSA McLaren, with Jop Rappange in the #77 KPX Motorsport BMW on P3. In Silver and Bronze cup, Aston Martin, Audi and Porsche also showed their pace.